The hybrids, the bond and the secret
by LaurinnaInkheart
Summary: Niklaus is a hybrid, a mix of vampire and werewolf. The one who can give him offspring is another hybrid everything including human. Can he win her heart, her hand and her trust.
1. Prologue: The prophecy, Niklaus and hags

**Chapter one: The Prophecy, the Witches and Nicklaus.**

A pot bubbled on the witches stove in their home in Scotland, Edinburgh. Hecate, MacDouise and MacPuffery all hated one another feircely. But here they were sat in a small run down cottage with a spell brewing and eating Hagis. Why are they there? People have heard of the sisters tale and the reason is unknown but was written in the stars when something took place that could change a mortals life forever. Today was the day that it would all change. With a knock on the door it would fall into place.

Hecate motioned for the smallest and scruffiest of the sisters to open the door. A young man waited there in nothing more than a shirt, jeans and boots that belonged more in the 1800's. His hair was a blond but near white it was hard to see the difference. His eyes were of a deep blue which were flecked with green. His face was pale and his shirt was wet that you could see his skin beneath. His boots squelched on the floor as he passed the hag bowing to an umbrella stand, MacDouise was blind and so were the others and they shared an eye. The eye was in the hand of Hecate the eldest and the knew the secret which the young man, Niklaus, needed.

"Niklaus how ya've grown haven't seen ya since you were a wee lad. " she reached for a box of cigarettes and motioned towards him. He wasn't a smoker and didn't take one.

"Hecate, you and your sisters have information I need and I was told I would be recieving it today. Where is it?" she light her cigarette and passed the eye to the second child.

"Aye lad ya shall have the name of. . ." she paused and looked to see if there were any other way of saying it. "The lass who can give ya wee lads and lasses. But she'll ba a englash hybrid, she can't be human, ya underatand." she shuddered and went to look at the pot.

She stirred it and her sisters threw in a lock of hair from Niklaus, a drop of blood, a piece of the heavens, a star's heart and a chain made of pure sunlight and happiness from the girl. It bubbled and a flower layed on top, a Laurel flower and the name of the girl rested in sunlight. She passed it to Niklaus and he rested it on his palm. The name burned into his skin and glowed for a few seconds before just becoming a flower. The skin on his hand was white and it read the name in ink:

**Laura Spurway**

- 0 -

Laura was coming home from the library. She couldn't go to school, she'd passed college and high school first year in all but one subject, Physical. Didn't want to. Didn't need to. Laura put her key in the door of her apartment and stepped inside.

"Chelsea, I'm back from the Library." she called and went into the kitchen.

A hand grabbed her and shoved her onto a chair. A figure stepped into the light. He had blonde hair like hers but a shade darker, eyes like diamonds and the same shade of blue as hers. "Where is Laura Spurway?"

"You found her." I looked into those eyes and then, darkness. . .


	2. Chapter 1: Awakened in hell, part one

"Bells? Bella? LauraaaabChels!" The voice grunts irritably. "For God's sake, wake up! It has been days."

Laura whines at the sudden cold. Her hands feel helplessly around in search of coverage from the cold that creeps into her bones. She turns and groans in the mattress, burying her head under the pillow due the brightness that tries to seep through her closed eyes. She doesn't want to get up yet. It's probably early, anyway—

"Chelseeea."

Laura starts from the bed, sitting upright. Her breathing is suddenly coming out in raps as the memories from that evening come to mind.

Where is she? What is this place? What happened to Chelsea? Where is the psychopath?

In sight comes a dark woman, with dark cherry lipstick and a big, bouncing afro on top of her head. She occupies the end of the bed and smirks broadly. "Finally. Why didn't I think of saying that earlier? Would have spared me loads of time. Not like I haven't got loads of time. But seriously? Who sleeps that long?" She shakes her head, like Laura's crazy.

"I-" Laura croaks, her voice dry and rusty from the lack of hydration.

"That was rhetorical, sweetie. I would rather have you not talking to me. You sound like you're dying and that's not attractive at all. Though I am attracted to the fact that you seriously look like a small fragile, little animal… but seem to be able to withstand him." She crosses her legs over each other. Laura can't really follow what's going on.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

The woman sighs. "Stupid girl. Did you not hear a word of what I just told you? I am Matilda. And I will do the talking. Now, you're in Niklaus's temporary home. I hope it's a temporary for him. I can't believe he chose a cabin in the woods to take as a residence. Completely not his style but maybe he wants to get all wolf on you. It's not even that large, though-"

Laura clenches the sheets and swallows. Only paying half an ear's attention to what Matilda is rambling about. Because that woman is seriously the Negara Waterfalls of words. "Where is Chelsea? Is she safe?" Laura interrupts. Her mind is still trying to piece everything together. Her headache is getting worse.

Matilda glares at her. "Sentiment. Really? Your dear, beloved Chels is part of their mind game now. But you can stop thinking about her because you're his now. And besides, even if you were so stupid as to try to run… Loose ends need to be tied you know. Otherwise things get messy. Well, another messy because it was already very messy. And you're seriously one of the most pathetic humans beings I've ever encountered. " Matilda laughs loudly about it. And Laura looks really horrified. Though, only one part really sticks.

"What do you mean with doesn't remember me? How could she not remember me? You really think that Chelsea would just forget about me after a couple days of absence?" Laura bites angrily. Nobody gets to talk low about to the people she cares about. Nobody.

"Oh, get it already. It's suffocating me. Just face it. For God's sake. Or your sake, whatever. Chelsea has become part of their mind game. There's no way out of that. She is compChelsd to forget. Vampires do that. You might as well know now that Niklaus is a hybrid. A vampire-werewolf. I might add… the oldest one of his kind. Yes, they exist, blah-die blah. Get over yourself. So, you see… no way out of that. You're his. "

"W-what? Vampires? Werewolves?"

"Yessssss. Christ. You're irritating and stupid. Aren't you one of them?" Matilda blatantly says. "I feel so sorry for him. Really I do. And I never do that. Can you believe it?" She shakes her head.

Laura ignores the older woman. And staggers forward to do the door. "I need to get out of here. Need to get to Chelsea. Chelsea needs me. I need to know she's safe. I can't stay here."

With all the weight and power that she has in her, she pushes against the door. And again and again and again. Until her shoulder feels like it's breaking. She turns to fully face the door and heavily breathes in and out, getting herself back together before she starts knocking on the door as hard as she can, again, again, again and again. It's no use.

Laura slumps against the door. She can feel the tears sting behind her eyes. This just can't happen. It can't. "Please, M-matilda. P-please just get me out of here."

"Can't do." She says in an eerie sing-song voice. "Just calm down and stay put. Christ. It's not like Chelsea is important, anyway. If you want survive, you need to start thinking about yourself. Though, not Katherine-wise because that was just all whole mess of self-esteem issues and the Salvatore's and blah blah blah. Oh, and about survival. You can't tell anyone about me."

Matilda slowly walks forward, almost like a predator. As if the time around her slows down which is mainly impossible because that can only happen when you go faster than light, which is impossible. Or she must have some weird supernatural powers, that don't exist. So therefore, impossible.

Matilda stops right in front of Laura and pokes her long, sharp black fingernail in Laura's cheek and slowly lets her hand wander down until it wraps around Laura's throat. Laura can feel the nails digging in her skin. "Because- if you do, dear Laura Spurway. I will personally come to rip your heart out… through your nose. With my nails." Matilda slowly lets a nail wander down Laura's arm, while she smiles wickedly.

Laura shudders in fear but tries to keep it in the in the best way that she can. "You can threaten me or kill whatsoever as long as I know for a full hundred percent that Chelsea IS safe." And then she places both hands on Matilda's collarbones and pushes her back… hard. Personal space is optional in Laura's world. Matilda staggers back, and her ankles collide with the front of the bed, but she falls gracefully into sitting position on the bed. Like she has no trouble turning gravity around to bend to her will.

Laura's eyes harden. But she can feel her heart hammer in her chest. Even a blind man knows after conversing with this woman for ten minutes that she's a total nutcase. And somehow, Laura has the feeling that the threat that Matilda just made was more like a promise.

To her surprise, Matilda starts to slow-clap, crossing her legs over each other, while the corners of her dark cherry-colored lips turn upwards. "Mh—maybe you're not that pathetic. But we shall see about that. Let the prophecy begin." She shrugs. "Oh and don't ever do that againn. I will curse you." She says, narrowing her eyes with such a coldness in them that Laura can't help but to nod in agreement. "Good! Oh, and I am sure that doors open inwards these days, sweetie."

Laura pushes herself back from the door and looks at it. She fights to urge to face palm herself. Apparently, logic is also optional.

She finally turns to look at Matilda, when her embarrassment mostly faded, Matilda's gone. DLaurappeared in thin air. Laura looks at the left wall made of logs and at the large window covered with venetian blinds… it's not open. And she heard nothing…

She rubs her eyes, but Matilda is still gone. How can-this place is already messing with her mind. She turns back around and slowly turns the doorknob, before opening it inwards.


	3. Chapter 1: Awakened in hell, part two

She walks down the hallway. The room that she came from is seated in an dead end of a small hallway, in the opposite hallway of that room is not a room but a spiral staircase leading up to what she believes, must be the attic. On the long wall that connects the two hallways hangs a beautiful painting, with two lilies floating in water. She almost feels like she could dip her hand in the water if she tried. The main hallway – her room's hallway, the spiral-case hallway and the main hallway for a 'T' together – does have different rooms on either side of the wall; two doors on each side. There are other paintings hanging against the walls between the doors, some have a cabinet under them. With beautiful vases on them or old-looking library lamps. There are even small LED lights that bring the paintings to a better light. She frowns.

Is this the house of some kind of mafia boss... or a rich business man gone mad? It doesn't look like any of the houses that she normally reads about in the thrillers that she likes.

Laura slowly wanders out of the 'main hallway' and into a clearing, where she meets with a wooden banister overlooking the real hallway. It's somehow similar to her home. Downstairs, there is a large white door – probably the front door - with small mosaic glass framing it, so that the hallway is lit with different colors, cascading over the floor like a flowing rainbow. She is caught, for a moment, by the beauty of the chandelier, that is right on her eye-level from where she stands. By the left wall is an opening in the banister, which makes way for a normal, wooden staircase that leads down the wall, onto a small platform, that connects with a small staircase on it's right and that ends just beside the door, on the ground.

Laura breathes in, wiping her dark-brown hair behind her right ear. It's now or never. The door is right there. Right for the taking. It could be locked. She actually doesn't want to think about that option.

She shakes her head briefly. It's no use, she thinks. She has no idea where she is. If he could find her in Alaska than he will certainly find her in his own territory. And why was she thinking in animal language? Territory—who's she kidding? In his own neighborhood. But if the woman was right and this is a cabin in the woods, which isn't impossible seeing that almost everything in this house is made of wood and the walls are actually logs stacked on each other, then the woods would form a problem. A big problem. If she only knew how to drive a car then things would be a lot easier. They must have a car, right…

Laura sighs and mentally surrenders but defiantly not embraces the fact that she's feeling like a caged in animal. Again, with the animal terms—this is really going to be a problem, isn't it?

She descents the staircase slowly. Step for step. It's only when her feet touch the cold marble floor that she realizes that she's walking around the house barefooted. Where are her sneakers? She looks at the rest of her clothing. She's wearing the same dark-blue t-shirt and denim jeans as before. And they're still partly stained with blood. Laura wrinkles her nose and fights the sudden urge to take her clothes off right at this second. Not a good plan. She just needs to keep going. And she needs to ignore the sudden feeling of nausea that's pooling in her belly, trying to crawl its way up.

Laura swallows slowly and proceeds her way towards the living room. The kitchen seems to be seated right under the wooden balcony with the staircase connected to it. She can see the faint sight of an island and in the middle of the room, with light-wooden cabinets behind it.

But she needs to find the person responsible for kidnapping her. She needs to know what's going on and where Chelsea is. After all, her curiosity outs everything by far, except love. And Chelsea is part of that. She clenches her hands together at her sides and walks through the big wooden, threshold that connects to another room.

She can see a large Persian carpet with two blood-red - she swallows again- sofa's with a small dark-brown oak table in the middle of it. There's a glass carafe with an orange-y liquid in it and with two simple glass cups next to it. The wall opposite to hers is almost covered with one gigantic painting. And on the small wall to her left, is again a large window, reaching the sealing, with venetian blinds in front of it. It's almost like the room baths in light. There's a smaller threshold next to the red couch that leans against a small wall, probably made for the purpose of having something against it. She slowly, step by step, walks past the living room area, around the sofa's and to that threshold in the far, righter wall.

Her heart stops.

It seems to feel that way.

Laura comes eye in eye with the two people from earlier. The woman sits on the counter, leaning backwards like an Egyptian goddess and the blonde man sits on a barstool, drink in his right hand and head turned around so that he can see her. Fear suffocates her suddenly in every single way. The feeling that she got from Matilda isn't even close to this. She can't breathe. Can't even find the strength to swallow. She doesn't even blink. Just stares at them, literally frozen to the ground.

Moments go by of mutual staring…

And then suddenly, she gulps for air. Her back straightening. Who else had she expect to be here? She swallows and tries to focus to breathe through her nose, almost closing her eyes… almost. But they look at her like predators. Well, the woman does. He just… looks at her. He seems more than just irritated while he downs his drink in one go. And puts it on the table with a loud clack!

"Look at who comes to join us." The woman suddenly speaks, jutting her chin out and scanning Laura up and down, while she still has a… smirk on her face. Like she's planning something pure evil and likes the fact that Laura is completely clueless.

Laura takes a couple steps forward. Not wanting to let them control her fear. After all, as Chelsea always says: 'Fear is just an illusion off the mind. Once you eliminate the problem that causes the fear and turn them into something less scary in your mind then the fear will slowly fade away. Fear keeps us sharp and makes us rethink our decisions. It's a tool not an obstacle.'

Laura slowly understands what Chelsea tried to say. It does help a bit. She knows that she can do this and walks into the same space as they're in, which is – apparently - the kitchen. It seems the kitchen is a small but long room at the length-y side of the house. Although, she keeps her back towards the corner next to the threshold. It feels safer.

Laura tries to look them right in the eye. "Who are you? Where am I? And what do you want from me?" She surprises herself with the fact that her voice sounds steady as steal. "Oh, and what are you?"

She will not back down now.

"So…you think…that you've the right to know anything?" The blonde woman says, throwing her head back while she laughs loudly. Then she jumps of the bar with ease.

"Yes. I do." Laura answers sternly. Who's the child now?

In a sudden rush of air, the blonde woman is in front of Laura. She looms over Laura a little bit, because she has a couple inches on her. But what can she do to Laura? Yank her hair backwards like a pathetic, little girl?

Not the right question… before Laura can even register it, the woman grabs her wrist in her claw and twist it hard backwards. Laura bends, while crying out in pain. She eases Laura's wrist back but keeps it tightly in her grip and then pokes a finger in Laura's cheek, like testing out if Laura is really standing there.

Laura realizes that the woman acts like she's some kind of toy- just for her to play with or for her to show off her strength. Laura pulls away fast, trying to make as much distance between the woman as is possible. A lack of personal space seems a trait of them both. "W-what are you doing?" Laura asks, eyeing the woman, then the man and then the woman again.

"You're quite ugly for someone like you and so young. I feel pity for you, Nik." She says as she smiles mockingly.

Laura just sighs. She already knows the kind of person that this woman is. You've got them in every bloody place. She just can't understand that some people get off on hurting others. It's pure sadistic.

"Now, now… dear sister. Don't be so mean. Come here and take a seat, sweetheart." He says, with a thick undertone and with some sense of authority. Laura would've considered his voice kind if it wasn't for the ice-cold undertone.

Laura's eyes widen slightly before slowly shaking her head. "I'm good here, thank you."

"Don't be so rude. I told you to sit down." He says snappily without looking at her.

Laura narrows her eyes. Thinking about the information she gathered until now. Then, she remembers what Matilda had said. "Nik—you must be Niklaus." Laura smiles to herself for figuring that out. "The woman told me that. She said something about you compelling Chelsea—making her forget me, in order for me to become yours. Whatever that means. Where is Chelsea?" Laura bites out. Maybe she is ignoring his warning on purpose, maybe she is ignoring his warning out of fear. It doesn't really matter. She just wants to know why she's here and where Chelsea is.

The sister grabs her chin roughly towards herself, making Laura looks straight into the eyes of a predator. Laura shivers before she can control herself. The sister just smiles, broadly, in triumph. Still, that cold, evil predatory glance in her eyes… "Dear Chelsea has indeed forgotten your existence. Can't really blame her for how small it is. So you can just better do the same." The sister grins sadistically. "This is compelling… Sit down."

Laura seriously suppresses a laugh this time. If the sister had kept up the act, then it would've probably been very successful but she's just mental. How can Laura take her even close to serious? Psychotic seriously comes a very close second right now.

"I don't want to sit down. I want answers." Laura says slowly, as if she speaks different language than they do. She stares right back in that predatory look, searching for answers but finds nothing but emptiness. Cold, death emptiness. She can suppress a shiver this time.

The face of the sister suddenly falls and she pulls back, even taking a couple steps back as if Laura has slapped her right in the face. That isn't even a bad thought, 'though Laura isn't even close to aggressive. Maybe a good Plan 'B'?

"T-that's not possible! You haven't had vervain in your system for at least 48 hours." The sister shrieks.

Laura shocks backwards. In another flash of air, Niklaus is standing right in front of her. How do they do that? Laura frowns more concerned with that question, than with the actual fact that the murderer of her friendly neighbor is dangerously looming over her. Laura just takes a couple steps back, still not looking away.

He just takes another step in her personal space and firmly holds both shoulders, so she has to look him straight in his eyes. Even if she has to look up to do that. "Sit down." He demands. Suddenly, her heart misses a beat when she notices how his pupils dilate. It freaks the bloody hell out of her.

"Let go of me!" She takes a step backwards, colliding with the wall behind her. "I don't want to sit down. Just please stop this… what do you want from me? Who are you?"

Fear seeps through the cracks in her wall and she can feel the sadness and fear mixing together. It isn't the time to cry. Not now. She can't give them that kind of satisfaction. She moves left and right but he just will not let her leave.

They both look at her, complete bewilderment covering their faces.

"Now… that's what I call interesting." Niklaus says. His eyes changing into something, some feeling, some kind of look that makes Laura visibly tremble with fear. She tries to make a move again but he just places a hand on her shoulder.

Laura can feel the tears coming. Her vision is becoming blurry.

"W-what do you want?" Why are they acting like she's some kind puppet, from which they just have to pull the strings to make it work? "What's- what is int- interesting?" Laura stutters this time, merely able to control all the feelings twirling around, and breaking every little wall that she still has standing.

She swallows again. She is weak, actually. And there it goes… she can feel the first droplet roll down her cheek. Niklaus's expression softens a little bit and he smiles, using his thumb to wipe away the single tear.

"No need to get so emotional. You'll see it all… in time." He says slowly.

Laura doesn't like it at all. She tries to move, feeling the shivers run up and down her spine like an electric wire. And certainly not of pleasure. Every wall, every single emotion of bravery is literally being broken in pieces. She can feel it all crumble down. And his smile is just sickening.

More tears well up and roll down her cheek, to drip down her chin. She can't even control herself enough to stop the sob that erupts from her throat. Like magma spurting out of a volcano with an gigantic explosion.

"Wh-wh-wh-why di-di-di- di-" More sobs come and they are growing louder and louder. Every single one feels like it's literally ripped from her body. And the expression on his face changes from that sickening smile to the most creepy annoyed look ever. Like he wants to rip her heart out through her ribcage. And then he lets her go.

Laura doesn't have to think about it for more than a second, and skitters across the wall, starting in a run up the stairs and back to the only room that feels safe enough to hide away. The only room that she actually knows in this place. Wherever that may be.

-0-

"What a pathetic, little girl… why don't you just take her?" Rebekah says clearly annoyed by the dramatic scene, just now. "She's nothing special. She's human. Fragile, pathetic…easy." She shrugs. " I can just kill her."

Klaus sits back on his barstool at the bar. Clearly annoyed by the fact that some of the thoughts that his little sister speaks out loud, he finds to be –irritatingly- true. Well, he is right after all… humans are never a challenge, not even worthy of any attention. He beckons the woman in black that is in the far outer corner, on the right side of the kitchen. Like a statue, barely alive. She hurries forward and pours him another drink.

He looks at Rebekah who, he knows, is smirking. She's the only one, who can read him at some times. But he doesn't like that look. Can't have that kind of disobedience right now. And he points at her, "I will not have that. Andit's not your business!"

"Why not? She lives in this house. With us. That pathetic, little, cry-baby, human lives in the same house as we do. And… I can't believe this. You're actually taking her side." She purses her lips in arrogance.

Irritated, by the ongoing nagging of his sister, he places his glass with a loud thud on the marble bar. "Rebekah…" his tone holds a serious warning. "I am not. Taking her side. I just think that you need to leave it alone and let me do my things my way."

"Why? Because you have a little hybrid obsession? 'You just don't want to be alone?' That again? Well, you're not and where's Stefan? We still have Elijah and Kol. Why do you need this pathetic thing to not feel… ALONE." She screams at him, clearly losing her temper. As if she had any patience in the first place.

She shouldn't have said that. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, there's this little voice telling her that she very well knows that. But she can't care more or less. She is a vampire. An original one. She will not bend for a human. Ever.

In less than a millisecond, he is in front of her, gripping her throat as he raises her off the ground.

"You do as I say, when I say it or the next time… you'll be daggered. Understood?" His eyes turning the familiar yellow, and the veins grow in his face, showing his true nature; showing what kind of monster, he really is. With one simple movement he throws her against the wall, turns around and walks back to the bar, like nothing happened. He hears the swift change of air and knows that Rebekah is leaving the room, probably the house even.

He feels depressed. Why is everybody always so dramatic? What has come of the world? Where is the endless joy, drinking and pleasure? He feels the emptiness fill him, like water seeping through a cloth.

Minutes go by and he looks at the woman in the corner. He can hear the slow, faint beat of her heart, pumping blood through her body. He lets the sound of that fill him up instead. Slowly, he raises himself from the barstool—

Niklaus turns around. There is Laura, hands formed into fists and tears making place for red, dried-up skin. She's the cause of this fight. And he knows that he will come to regret it. What happened to family above all? He scans her expression. It's a new look on her. Different from earlier. It's not courage. Not anger. Certainly not fear. It's more like she wants something, like she is determined.

He lifts his eyebrows in a curious manner. He wouldn't say that he is surprised. Although, maybe he is. Is she actually coming around? Laying down her faith and accepting the fact that she can do nothing about what happens to her now. That it's not her choice but his. She is his now.

But he is clearly wrong…

-o-

She runs as fast as she can. Tears are blurring her vision. And her heart sinks in her chest, like the Titanic being hit by that damn iceberg; Niklaus is the iceberg. She doesn't know how or why she lost her hope or her confidence. All she knows is that his eyes are so cold and… death, that fear engulfs her in a tight embrace. Not letting go. She has never felt such a moment. Maybe once, when her mother left her on her dead bed. The light in her eyes fading, changing, like the flickering of light and then it was gone… just like that. That awful moment. It feels like she has relived that. Those eyes bring the memories back. The memories that she has tried so hard to push away in a dark corners of her mind.

She reaches the room and stumbles forward to the end of the bed. She pulls herself on the end. Supporting herself with both hands on the bed beside her. Her head hangs down in defeat. Darkness is closing in on her, from every side.

Those crazy, mentally ill, psychopathic, mean persons wouldn't have gotten to her if that hadn't happen. She has ignored what they said mostly because it didn't make any sense. All she wants to know is why she was here and were Chelsea is, most of all what everyone meant with forgetting? Your loved ones never leave you. A piece of them always stays with you. She knows that. Experienced that. Even when Chelsea was probably, somewhere on the other side of the country, maybe even the world… still she can't just forget her. Loved ones think of each other, always. As a token, as a resemblance of love for each other. It's impossible to completely forget them. So, why… why did everyone tell her that Chelsea had simply forgotten her; like you forget everything about the cashier the moment you walk out of the supermarket. She can't forget her.. because Laura walked out of Chelsea's live? Can she? Tears find their way out again and she buries her face between her knees. She feels doubt. But most all, she feels hope leave her behind. Her heart is breaking slowly. Like someone pulls at a loose thread – pull, pull ,pull – until it just falls apart in pieces.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there is a small light. She can feel it shine behind her eyes. Well, it isn't really a light but it feels like a light. Like rays of sunshine are shining through her skull, into her heart and clearing all the darkness away.

"Mum?" Laura whispers because there's this smell in the air. The smell of a specific soap that smells like freshly-plucked roses and cinnamon. But there's some distinct smell that comes with it…

"Ha-ha. You wish."

Laura flinches and looks up. It's Matilda. What is 'Mad' Matilda- and she just unconsciously gave her a nickname- doing in her room after threatening her? Probably, to rub it in even more…

"Aha, she has been here. My little sister owes me twenty bucks." The woman says, clapping in her hands and twirls around. The face, length, voice and build are an exact copy of Matilda. The only difference is that this woman is wearing no make-up, her entire hair is braided into little braids with colored beads and she's wearing a long, - what looks like rough cotton – dark orange dress. Well, more a sweater that ends up to be too long but yeah. "Not that I would… have use for twenty bucks… like objects or stuff like that. But still—I wonnnn, I wonnn. I have more patience than she has. La-la-la-laaa-laaaaa."

She keeps clapping in her hands and then stills. Looking at Laurabelle with what only could be described as affection. Seriously? What just happened?

"My name is Roxanne. But everyone use—calls me Roxy. As you've probably realized… Matilda is my twin sister. Yeah—surprise! I like surprises! Well, the good ones, of course. Can't remember the last time someone gave me a present though. But anyway—I hope you're feeling better?"

Laura just nods as fast as she can.

"Good. You're going to need your strength much more than I need mine. But 'though, my sister was probably a little rough on you. Little being the understatement of the year." Laura can't help but to chuckle and her eyes widen and she quickly covers her mouth but Roxy just laughs and shakes her head. "She is right. I can help you see your strength from time to time. Though my power has its limit. It's like a battery, you see. Once I use mine completely… it won't recharge. Sucks. I know, little doll. But yeah—where was I? Oh yeah, she's right. You can't run from him. Shouldn't run from Niklaus. You're his now. He thinks you're his. But you're only his when you want to be his." Roxy narrows her eyes. "Understand what I'm saying?"

There's a nod again.

She waves her hand at Laura "Okay. I like you already. But you don't have to submit, okay? You will want to eventually or somehow. Because let's face it. He was scary 500 years ago and he's still damn scary now. Just got more of creeper. Like a vampire-wolf creeper. Seriously, who invented that? Oh, wait. I did."

She laughs loudly, it rumbles through her chest and vibrates through the air, causing the air to ripple. "But sweets, you need to, like, get your shit together, you know. Breathe. That helps. Look down when you're so stressed out that you feel like shitting your pants. And please don't. Doesn't solve a thing. And stand up against him when you want to. Be completely sincere and honest to yourself and too him. Only yourself and him. The rest is like seriously instinct. And you, Laura, have instinct like bam. And you can fight him off with your build-in defense mode. Like his supernatural shit, beside strength – doesn't work on you. That's like so cool." She winks. "And that bell… heh yeah… that you don't hear, is my cue. So see you later, sweets. Don't let my sister frighten you too much. "

And then Laura opens her eyes and almost falls back on the bed, like a shockwave just shot through the air.

Wait, what?

She shakes her head, as if that helps her brains from getting back together again. Like that actually helps the wheels to start turning again because—what? Just seriously what really happened?

She frowns. Yeah. Nothing.

Probably…

But somehow, weirdly somehow. She knows what needs to happen. What she needs to do for herself. Beside the fact that she also knows that she just seems to have lost her brains. She feels so overwhelmed... but she has found her hope back. Gluing all the pieces back together… kind of.

-0-

"If you think, I am going to let you or that little sister of you, toy with me then you're more than wrong. I might not know why I'm here, all alone, without Chelsea but that doesn't mean I am going to give up like this. I am not afraid of you no matter what you might think. But I am stronger than this. I am not going to give up. There's always hope, even for me. No matter what happens or what you're planning to do with me. I won't give in, and yes—that it a warning. I just think you should know this, so that you can be prepared…" Laura states everything strong and serious without letting her voice fall for a second. She pierces her eyes through his. Facing all those memories. Let them come over he, one by one. She can because she's the one in control. Not him. Not now.

She has no idea what she has said. But she knows that she has let her heart run free in that very moment. Letting everything out. And she feels relieved. She's still brave and hasn't given up. Something Chelsea and her mum would be proud of. She knows somehow that this is the start of something. Something big. Somehow engulfing her in a tight, suffocating embrace. But she's ready now. And, without any hesitation or without giving Niklaus any more attention, she turns on he feet and walks away, back to her room.

Of course, without noticing that Niklaus's lips are curved into a small smile… maybe he is wrong after all.


End file.
